A/N: Whoohoo! Two more chapters to go of Round One! Then guess what? A special probably three to four chapter long look into the romances of the characters! That's right! Hawk/Lise, Duran/Angela, and Koren/Heath all together in a nice little package! If you wanted more of the romance, here's your time. But still, two chapters away...
Weird little note= I haven't made myself throw up in two months. Yowzeee.
*~*
The Grand Tournament
Chapter 15
~*~
"You know...if the world suddenly ended in some apocalyptic explosion of doom..." Hawk began, looking intrigued, "I think she'd still be in that position."
Lise, still meditating, had both hands above her head and one of her legs crossed while standing against the bedroom wall. She had stayed like this all night, causing Hawk to worry slightly.
"You might be right...I bet you're right actually." Loki replied, prodding her lightly with his sword sheath. "Should we try and whack her out of it? She has to eat somethin' before her fight."
"Carlie know!!!!!" the half-elf screamed at the top of her lungs, making the two men shudder and cover their ears. "Watch." She said simply, as if it made the most sense in the world. She jumped off her bed, still in her Poto Pajamas with little feet and walked over to Lise. Looking up at her for a moment, she raised her hand and giggled.
"Holy Ball!" She cried and out from her small palm shot a ball of pure light right into the Princess's forehead, snapping her out of her trance.
Hawk took underneath the bed while Loki hid behind the curtains.
"CARLIE YOU LITTLE BRAT YOU GET BACK HERE OR I'LL SKIN YOU ALIVE AND MAKE YOU INTO A RUG! I'LL---"
The shouts faded. Hawk and Loki reappeared magically and blinked in bewilderment.
"Lise won't really kill a kid, would she? Hawk?" Loki asked reluctantly. A high-pitched scream came in reply from down the hall.
"...Yes."
"Breakfast in the hall...Breakfast in the hall..." Koren chanted, slowly walking toward the stairwell. "Breakfast in the hall..."
Suddenly, a lightning bolt of curly blonde hair and white robes flashed by him followed by a taller bolt of long blonde hair and blue armor.
"SKIN YOU ALIVE!!! FEED YOU TO THE NEEDLEBIRDS!" Lise screeched, flying down the stairwell after Carlie. Koren pivoted.
"Breakfast in the room...Breakfast in the room...Breakfast..."
It took the combined strength of Duran and Kevin to pull Lise away from Carlie enough to restrain her. Duran wiped his brow.
"WHAT is WITH you Lise?? You're aggressive, but not this murderous...usually." The Swordmaster asked. Lise turned to him.
"It was my meditation. I have the complete urge to kill anything that opposes me...absolutely kill and burn and crush and bite..."
"Lise need calm down. Lise sound like crazy. Lise need juice. And food!" Kevin purred and handed Lise a plate with steak and eggs on it. Lise froze, and Duran winced.
"Aw, shit."
"KILL!!" Lise dove onto her meal like a dragon onto a country village, eating wildly nonstop until there was nothing left. Silence prevailed the table; Angela's eyes were wide and Hawk was cowering slightly. Slowly he stood up and patted Lise's head.
"Calm. Calm. You feel peace...you feel...calm..." He chanted, and Lise began to relax. Hawk brushed his hand against her cheek. "Calm...and...serenity..."
Chomp.
"SHE BIT ME! THE BITCH BIT ME!" Hawk yelled angrily and once again, the strongest of the warriors were forced to break up the quarrel. In the midst of the chaos, three chimes sounded and those who were not involved stood up to leave. Angela shook her head as she walked by Carlie.
"She's crazy. He's crazy. No wonder they're in love."
~*~
"Welcome, ladies and gents, to the final fight of round one!" Shichi cheered, even more bouncy today than ever before. "I am very excited to announce that today's fight is worthy of being saved for last! We have two very strong and powerful women going at it today!" The crowd cheered wildly.
"I am also pleased to announce that after this fight, several teams from our lineup will be given a one-month retreat from the Island of Warriors to return back home and rest! The teams are..."
"Oh my god!" squeaked Angela, almost crying out of mirth, "We get to go HOME! For an entire MONTH! AND LEAVE THIS GODDESS-FORSAKEN ISLAND TO SPEND MY TIME LAVISHLY BACK IN ALTENA CASTLE..." The princess trailed off. Koren smirked.
"That, I believe, is my job." He said coolly, with a hint of malice. Angela glanced over. "In fact, Princess, I believe that there is a warrant out for your arrest. You might want to stay away then." Angela was broken; she forgot about the warrant and her expulsion from the castle. Crap.
"Still...it is a month..." she mumbled. Hawk was practically prancing.
"I get to go back to what I do best!" he exclaimed happily. Angela looked over, still sour from Koren's harsh reality comment.
"Pillaging and womanizing?" she snapped. Hawk winked.
"More or less."
"Hey, hey, guys." Loki spoke up, and everyone turned to him. "We don't know if we're one of the teams, so shut up and listen." Silence prevailed.
"...Team Urkoro, Team Yabon, and...Team Mana!" Shichi concluded, and an explosion took place in the box that company was in.
"I GET TO GO HOME!" Loki yelled in absolute elation, dancing around with Duran by his side. Heath and Koren were hugging each other.
"Come to Altena! It's the absolute best!" Koren cheered and Heath nodded in agreement. The rest didn't even recognize that the fight had almost begun.
~*~
Lise stared at her opponent in an absolute state of serenity. Vendice smoothed her hair back and checked her nails. Shichi was ready to call the fight when Lise took out her spear and calmly set her position, eyes closed.
"Ready...and...BEGIN!" Shichi announced and jumped back. Vendice growled and then smirked.
"So you really are the Queen of Rolante." Lise's eyes flew open. "My cousin described you very well." With her concentration broken, Lise relaxed slightly.
"Cousin?"
"You know her." Vendice rushed forward and swiped at Lise's face, who evaded just in time to whirl her spear around for an attempt at a counterattack, yet Vendice turned around just in time as well and dodged the blow.
"What is her name?" Lise demanded, and focused the tip of her spear at Vendice's chest. The girl smirked.
"Bigieu." She hissed, and began to glow. Lise, completely shocked, didn't even attack while she had the chance. When the glow faded, Vendice re-appeared in a more horrendeous state. She had grown to nearly seven feet tall, and red fur covered her entire body. She developed paws, a tail, and feline-resembling fangs on her once beautiful face. Her bright green eyes had become cat-like and glared at the Starlancer angrily. Lise gasped.
"You're not a normal Beastwoman..." she muttered, and avoided a swipe from the beast's claws. Vendice continued to attack maliciously, each attack becoming more and more furious. Lise took the chance of vaulting over her...
...and was thrown nearly twenty yards away by the animal who roared in triumph when the girl landed, yelping in pain. The crowd gasped.
"No. I'm not." Vendice seethed, and began to stalk Lise on all fours. Try as hard as she could, the Queen found her left arm to be too painful to use, and struggled to no avail to stand.
"You see, we all love our particular ability to transform into something much different than those insolent dogs of the Moonlight Forest." She approached slowly, baring her teeth. "I am an Aychathia, a cat-demon. We hail from the depths of the forest surrounding the Dark Castle." Saliva dripped down her jaw, and Lise struggled harder to crawl and reach her spear. "And we get very, very hungry..." Almost upon her, Vendice roared and opened her mouth wide only to chomp down on Lise's spear, sending her coiling back in pain. Lise stood up, using her spear for support.
"If you are kin of Bigieu's than I have no choice but to kill you!" Lise shouted and ran forward, spear raised, to attack Vendice. Recovered, Vendice rolled to the side and snapped at Lise's heels in agitation. Whirling around, Lise managed to strike Vendice in the eye with the point of her spear, sending a pain-filled roar echoing through the stadium. With the beast crippled and trying to brush blood away from its vision, Lise grasped her arm in pain and sank to her knees.
'I need to remedy this somehow...oh!' She thought, and untied her long blonde hair and withdrew her ribbon. Using her mouth and usable hand, she created a sling well formed enough to help her shattered arm. Standing again, she took her spear up and readied to charge at Vendice, who was still crippled on the ground.
Giving a war cry, the Starlancer charged and lifted her spear up high. But, Vendice had been playing possum while sitting on the ground and growled in malice. As Lise came down from the air, Vendice opened her mouth and sank her fangs deep into Lise's leg, making the Queen scream in agony.
~*~
"LISE!" Hawk shouted, banging on the box window. "LISE, PLEASE, STAND UP!" He yelled in hopelessness and sank into his chair in disbelief. "No..."
"Hey, Hawk, c'mon, she's not dead!" Duran tried to sooth, but Hawk took his head into his hands and shook.
"You don't understand. A bite from an Aychathia is extremely poisonous. Most grown men die within a matter of minutes." He took out a knife and threw it at the wall. "DAMNIT!" Duran froze.
"But...she's not like anybody else! She's an Amazoness, and they're much stronger than any other average grown man! She can make it, just long enough to end the fight and let us help her...right? ...Heath? Right?" Duran looked at Heath hopefully, but the Mage looked solemn.
"Only by a slim margin, Duran. I expect the poison might overwhelm her in ten minutes." He replied, clasping his hands. Hawk stood up.
"Well I'm not standing around here while she dies!" the Nightblade exclaimed and jumped for the exit of the box and flew down the stairs.
~*~
Green blood gushed from Lise's leg as she laid writhing in pain. Vendice snarled and roared triumphantly.
"So you know now. The ultimate pain...just as my cousin wished. You will die slowly and in much agony. And I will watch, and when you are dead, I will lick your bones!" Vendice seemed to squeal in pleasure. But suddenly, Lise struggled upright.
"Witch. You'll never get rid of me as long as Bigieu is still alive..." Lise felt herself sway, but stayed confident in her statement. Vendice growled. "I'll...make you...the first casualty of my vengeance towards her..." The Starlancer lifted her spear and began to chant.
"You can try, pretty Queen..." Vendice purred, her good eye glowing, "but the only casualty in this fight will be you!!"
*~*
With Lise lethally poisoned, how is it possible that she could defeat Vendice, who has the upper hand?
*~*
Cliffhanger, because I'm already going to hell. And you will too if you don't review!!!
Weird little note= I haven't made myself throw up in two months. Yowzeee.
*~*
The Grand Tournament
Chapter 15
~*~
"You know...if the world suddenly ended in some apocalyptic explosion of doom..." Hawk began, looking intrigued, "I think she'd still be in that position."
Lise, still meditating, had both hands above her head and one of her legs crossed while standing against the bedroom wall. She had stayed like this all night, causing Hawk to worry slightly.
"You might be right...I bet you're right actually." Loki replied, prodding her lightly with his sword sheath. "Should we try and whack her out of it? She has to eat somethin' before her fight."
"Carlie know!!!!!" the half-elf screamed at the top of her lungs, making the two men shudder and cover their ears. "Watch." She said simply, as if it made the most sense in the world. She jumped off her bed, still in her Poto Pajamas with little feet and walked over to Lise. Looking up at her for a moment, she raised her hand and giggled.
"Holy Ball!" She cried and out from her small palm shot a ball of pure light right into the Princess's forehead, snapping her out of her trance.
Hawk took underneath the bed while Loki hid behind the curtains.
"CARLIE YOU LITTLE BRAT YOU GET BACK HERE OR I'LL SKIN YOU ALIVE AND MAKE YOU INTO A RUG! I'LL---"
The shouts faded. Hawk and Loki reappeared magically and blinked in bewilderment.
"Lise won't really kill a kid, would she? Hawk?" Loki asked reluctantly. A high-pitched scream came in reply from down the hall.
"...Yes."
"Breakfast in the hall...Breakfast in the hall..." Koren chanted, slowly walking toward the stairwell. "Breakfast in the hall..."
Suddenly, a lightning bolt of curly blonde hair and white robes flashed by him followed by a taller bolt of long blonde hair and blue armor.
"SKIN YOU ALIVE!!! FEED YOU TO THE NEEDLEBIRDS!" Lise screeched, flying down the stairwell after Carlie. Koren pivoted.
"Breakfast in the room...Breakfast in the room...Breakfast..."
It took the combined strength of Duran and Kevin to pull Lise away from Carlie enough to restrain her. Duran wiped his brow.
"WHAT is WITH you Lise?? You're aggressive, but not this murderous...usually." The Swordmaster asked. Lise turned to him.
"It was my meditation. I have the complete urge to kill anything that opposes me...absolutely kill and burn and crush and bite..."
"Lise need calm down. Lise sound like crazy. Lise need juice. And food!" Kevin purred and handed Lise a plate with steak and eggs on it. Lise froze, and Duran winced.
"Aw, shit."
"KILL!!" Lise dove onto her meal like a dragon onto a country village, eating wildly nonstop until there was nothing left. Silence prevailed the table; Angela's eyes were wide and Hawk was cowering slightly. Slowly he stood up and patted Lise's head.
"Calm. Calm. You feel peace...you feel...calm..." He chanted, and Lise began to relax. Hawk brushed his hand against her cheek. "Calm...and...serenity..."
Chomp.
"SHE BIT ME! THE BITCH BIT ME!" Hawk yelled angrily and once again, the strongest of the warriors were forced to break up the quarrel. In the midst of the chaos, three chimes sounded and those who were not involved stood up to leave. Angela shook her head as she walked by Carlie.
"She's crazy. He's crazy. No wonder they're in love."
~*~
"Welcome, ladies and gents, to the final fight of round one!" Shichi cheered, even more bouncy today than ever before. "I am very excited to announce that today's fight is worthy of being saved for last! We have two very strong and powerful women going at it today!" The crowd cheered wildly.
"I am also pleased to announce that after this fight, several teams from our lineup will be given a one-month retreat from the Island of Warriors to return back home and rest! The teams are..."
"Oh my god!" squeaked Angela, almost crying out of mirth, "We get to go HOME! For an entire MONTH! AND LEAVE THIS GODDESS-FORSAKEN ISLAND TO SPEND MY TIME LAVISHLY BACK IN ALTENA CASTLE..." The princess trailed off. Koren smirked.
"That, I believe, is my job." He said coolly, with a hint of malice. Angela glanced over. "In fact, Princess, I believe that there is a warrant out for your arrest. You might want to stay away then." Angela was broken; she forgot about the warrant and her expulsion from the castle. Crap.
"Still...it is a month..." she mumbled. Hawk was practically prancing.
"I get to go back to what I do best!" he exclaimed happily. Angela looked over, still sour from Koren's harsh reality comment.
"Pillaging and womanizing?" she snapped. Hawk winked.
"More or less."
"Hey, hey, guys." Loki spoke up, and everyone turned to him. "We don't know if we're one of the teams, so shut up and listen." Silence prevailed.
"...Team Urkoro, Team Yabon, and...Team Mana!" Shichi concluded, and an explosion took place in the box that company was in.
"I GET TO GO HOME!" Loki yelled in absolute elation, dancing around with Duran by his side. Heath and Koren were hugging each other.
"Come to Altena! It's the absolute best!" Koren cheered and Heath nodded in agreement. The rest didn't even recognize that the fight had almost begun.
~*~
Lise stared at her opponent in an absolute state of serenity. Vendice smoothed her hair back and checked her nails. Shichi was ready to call the fight when Lise took out her spear and calmly set her position, eyes closed.
"Ready...and...BEGIN!" Shichi announced and jumped back. Vendice growled and then smirked.
"So you really are the Queen of Rolante." Lise's eyes flew open. "My cousin described you very well." With her concentration broken, Lise relaxed slightly.
"Cousin?"
"You know her." Vendice rushed forward and swiped at Lise's face, who evaded just in time to whirl her spear around for an attempt at a counterattack, yet Vendice turned around just in time as well and dodged the blow.
"What is her name?" Lise demanded, and focused the tip of her spear at Vendice's chest. The girl smirked.
"Bigieu." She hissed, and began to glow. Lise, completely shocked, didn't even attack while she had the chance. When the glow faded, Vendice re-appeared in a more horrendeous state. She had grown to nearly seven feet tall, and red fur covered her entire body. She developed paws, a tail, and feline-resembling fangs on her once beautiful face. Her bright green eyes had become cat-like and glared at the Starlancer angrily. Lise gasped.
"You're not a normal Beastwoman..." she muttered, and avoided a swipe from the beast's claws. Vendice continued to attack maliciously, each attack becoming more and more furious. Lise took the chance of vaulting over her...
...and was thrown nearly twenty yards away by the animal who roared in triumph when the girl landed, yelping in pain. The crowd gasped.
"No. I'm not." Vendice seethed, and began to stalk Lise on all fours. Try as hard as she could, the Queen found her left arm to be too painful to use, and struggled to no avail to stand.
"You see, we all love our particular ability to transform into something much different than those insolent dogs of the Moonlight Forest." She approached slowly, baring her teeth. "I am an Aychathia, a cat-demon. We hail from the depths of the forest surrounding the Dark Castle." Saliva dripped down her jaw, and Lise struggled harder to crawl and reach her spear. "And we get very, very hungry..." Almost upon her, Vendice roared and opened her mouth wide only to chomp down on Lise's spear, sending her coiling back in pain. Lise stood up, using her spear for support.
"If you are kin of Bigieu's than I have no choice but to kill you!" Lise shouted and ran forward, spear raised, to attack Vendice. Recovered, Vendice rolled to the side and snapped at Lise's heels in agitation. Whirling around, Lise managed to strike Vendice in the eye with the point of her spear, sending a pain-filled roar echoing through the stadium. With the beast crippled and trying to brush blood away from its vision, Lise grasped her arm in pain and sank to her knees.
'I need to remedy this somehow...oh!' She thought, and untied her long blonde hair and withdrew her ribbon. Using her mouth and usable hand, she created a sling well formed enough to help her shattered arm. Standing again, she took her spear up and readied to charge at Vendice, who was still crippled on the ground.
Giving a war cry, the Starlancer charged and lifted her spear up high. But, Vendice had been playing possum while sitting on the ground and growled in malice. As Lise came down from the air, Vendice opened her mouth and sank her fangs deep into Lise's leg, making the Queen scream in agony.
~*~
"LISE!" Hawk shouted, banging on the box window. "LISE, PLEASE, STAND UP!" He yelled in hopelessness and sank into his chair in disbelief. "No..."
"Hey, Hawk, c'mon, she's not dead!" Duran tried to sooth, but Hawk took his head into his hands and shook.
"You don't understand. A bite from an Aychathia is extremely poisonous. Most grown men die within a matter of minutes." He took out a knife and threw it at the wall. "DAMNIT!" Duran froze.
"But...she's not like anybody else! She's an Amazoness, and they're much stronger than any other average grown man! She can make it, just long enough to end the fight and let us help her...right? ...Heath? Right?" Duran looked at Heath hopefully, but the Mage looked solemn.
"Only by a slim margin, Duran. I expect the poison might overwhelm her in ten minutes." He replied, clasping his hands. Hawk stood up.
"Well I'm not standing around here while she dies!" the Nightblade exclaimed and jumped for the exit of the box and flew down the stairs.
~*~
Green blood gushed from Lise's leg as she laid writhing in pain. Vendice snarled and roared triumphantly.
"So you know now. The ultimate pain...just as my cousin wished. You will die slowly and in much agony. And I will watch, and when you are dead, I will lick your bones!" Vendice seemed to squeal in pleasure. But suddenly, Lise struggled upright.
"Witch. You'll never get rid of me as long as Bigieu is still alive..." Lise felt herself sway, but stayed confident in her statement. Vendice growled. "I'll...make you...the first casualty of my vengeance towards her..." The Starlancer lifted her spear and began to chant.
"You can try, pretty Queen..." Vendice purred, her good eye glowing, "but the only casualty in this fight will be you!!"
*~*
With Lise lethally poisoned, how is it possible that she could defeat Vendice, who has the upper hand?
*~*
Cliffhanger, because I'm already going to hell. And you will too if you don't review!!!